Wednesday, August 26, 2015

I love making handpies. Baking them or Deep frying is the most awesome way to enjoy them. The speciality of today's recipe is that I have made them in a Pan !

I received a lot of request to share recipes that are both innovative and can be made without the oven.

Every one loves the combination of Apple, Cinnamon and brown sugar...so used that combination to make a sweet pie.

And just like all my other recipes, I have simplified the steps as we have limited time in the morning to prepare Kid's tiffin box. It gets more delicious with time, so an ideal snack to send for school or pack for picnics.

This is also a breakfast snack and the addition of fruits makes it more healthy. If you are serving as a dessert, then you can drizzle chocolate sauce and serve with a scoop of icecream. Yum! Of course if you are pressed for time, you can always deep fry the pies.

Apple Cinnamon Hand Pies :

Preparation Time : 10 minutes

Cooking Time : 20 minutes

Serves : 15 handpies ( small size)

Special Equipment required : Cookie Cutter and fondant cutter or you can use a small plate/ bottle caps for the shapes.

Measurement : 1 Cup = 250 ml

Ingredients :

For the filling :

1. Peeled and finely Chopped Apple -1 ( large)

2. Brown sugar -1/4 cup ( add more if you like it more sweet)

3.Water -1/4 cup

4. Butter -1 teaspoon

5. Cinnamon Powder -1/4 teaspoon

For the crust :

1.Whole Wheat Flour - 1 cup + extra for dusting

2. Butter/ Ghee - 1/4 cup

3. Sugar -1 teaspoon

4. Salt to taste

5. Milk - 1/4 cup + adjust

Garnish:

1. Icing Sugar -2 tablespoon or 2 tablespoon Chocolate sauce

Method :

1. In a heavy bottom pan heat a teaspoon of butter, add the apple and sugar. Mix well.

2. Add water so that the mixture comes together and the apple cooks in the heat. Add little more water if required. Do not over cook them. This mixture should not be runny. Switch off.

3. While the apple mixture cools, let us make the pastry dough. In a bowl add the Whole Wheat flour, sugar, salt and melted butter/ Ghee. Mix well. Add water little by little and knead the dough just the way you knead for flat breads, this will take 5 to 7 minutes. The dough has to be very soft but not sticky. Add flour if the dough is sticky. Cover and let it rest for 10 minutes. I had made the dough the previous day, so it was comvenient for me in the morning, you can store the dough in the refrigerator.

4. Flour the working surface and roll out the pastry dough. Using a cookie cutter cut out shapes like tnis.

5. In exactly half of the cut shapes, make another hole in the centre. So if you have made 16 circles, 8 of them will have holes like this. You can use a small bottle cap or fondent corer to do this.

6. Using a small brush or your fingers, moisten the corners of the circle.

7. Now, place the filling in the centre ( You can see that my filling is a bit runny...it was getting late for school!!). I sprinkled little Cinnamon powder on top of the filling before sealing it.

8. Place the other circle with the hole on top and seal the edges with a fork.

9. At this stage, if you are baking the pies, then preheat the oven at 180 degrees C ,line a baking tray, arrange the pies and brush the pies with melted butter/ Ghee. Bake at 180 degrees C for 10 minutes or till the time you see them browned on the sides.

PAN PIES : I made them in the pan. Place a tava or a Skillet and brush butter uniformly on the skillet. Place the Hand Pies and let them cook in medium flame for 5 minutes. Brush the top of the pies with butter and toss them and cook on the other side till they are done. It will take approximately another 5 minutes.

10. You can see that the pies are browned beautifully. They are ready to be served hot with or without garnish.

I personally love it with icing sugar. Oh ! So Good .... Who can say that these pies were made in a Pan!!!

Yumminess in every bite !

If you are serving to little ones, do not forget to drizzle CHOCOLATE!!

Chef Tips :

1. You can make these pies in All Purpose Flour. It will only taste more yummy. I used Whole wheat flour as a healthier option.

2. Make the dough and the filling, before hand. It is really convenient.

3. Use a silicon brush to grease the pan or brush the pies. The brush helps to spread butter uniformly.

4. You can use a dome shaped lid to partially close the skillet while the pies cook. But have a watchful eye over them